#16 Kansas State Wildcats @ West Virginia Mountaineers -4.0 (1.90)
October 31st, 12:00, Mountaineer Field
Yes, you read that right. The ranked Wildcats are actually being treated not only as underdogs, but four-point underdogs. The absolute nerve! But we’re not mad, because the Wildcats getting underdog status in this game simply means that their addition to this week’s parlay will bring us some major value.
Sure, K-State top QB Skylar Thompson has been battling injuries all season, but his replacement, freshman Will Howard, has done a bang up job in relief. The Wildcats have won four straight—a span during which they’ve averaged 36.3 points—since losing their season opener, and the Mountaineers have lost two of their last four games, including a loss last week to a Texas Tech team that fell to the Wildcats by double digits earlier this season.
Rarely will you get plus points for a ranked team when they are taking on an unranked one, but here we are, and, once again, we shan’t scoff at this tasty treat the oddsmakers have gifted us. A ranked team being given points against an unranked one is an unusual occurrence, so we’ll take advantage of these odds in our parlay this week.
Pick: Kansas State Wildcats +4.0 (1.90) (Betway)
#5 Georgia Bulldogs -17.0 (1.90) @ Kentucky Wildcats
October 31st, 12:00, Kroger Field
Georgia had a bye last week, and the week before that, they lost big to the Crimson Tide. No doubt that bad taste is still in their mouth, and unfortunately for Kentucky, they just happen to be next on the Bulldogs schedule. The Wildcats, and more specifically, their coach, Mark Stoops, have not been able to figure Georgia out over the past decade: Kentucky has dropped the last 10 matchups, including seven straight under Stoops.
The only time that Kentucky has been able to cover the spread during that span was last year, when they lost 21-0 to the Bulldogs on a 24-point spread. The Bulldogs have gone 16-5 against the spread in their last 21 games directly following a loss. With Kirby Smart calling the shots in Athens, the Bulldogs have also gone 7-3 against the spread after a loss while also posting a 5-2 mark after a bye.
All signs point to a bounce back romp for the Bulldogs at Kroger, so we’re going to take the Bulldogs to win and cover all 17 points in our sure thing bet of the week. The Bulldogs were embarrassed two weeks ago, and they’ve had more than enough time to stew in it, so you best believe they’ll come out firing against the Wildcats.
Pick: Georgia Bulldogs -17.0 (1.90) (Betway)
Texas Longhorns @ #6 Oklahoma State Cowboys -3.5 (1.95)
October 31st, 4:00, Boone Pickens Stadium
We’ve already put our eggs into the basket of one Big 12 undefeated team, why not spread the love and have the only other perfect team in the conference, Oklahoma State, join our parlay party in Week 9? Last week we actually bet against the Cowboys (successfully) in a game that they won against Iowa State, but this week they take on a foe who, while boasting an illustrious history, has not been altogether competitive recently in the Longhorns. Texas is just barely breathing above .500 after a win last week brought them to 3-2. They had given up 86 points in losses to TCU and Oklahoma in the two weeks before that.
That kind of erratic play simply won’t cut it in a game against a team as well-rounded as the Cowboys are this season. Though their defense has often been a laughable afterthought, the Cowboys defense has been no joke this year, and now the offense has starting quarterback Spencer Sanders back in the mix to supplement the rushing prowess of senior tailback Chuba Hubbard, who continues to impress out of Alberta, Canada.
The Longhorns have gone 0-3-1 against the spread in their last four games against BIg 12 opponents and they’ve also gone an ugly 0-4-1 ATS in their last five games during the spooky month of October. Texas is also 1-4 against the spread in the last four meetings between them and the Cowboys, not to mention an 8-3 record for the favorite (OK State in this case) in the last 11 meetings between these teams. We’ll round out our parlay with another pick that simply offers too much value to pass up.
Pick: Oklahoma State Cowboys -3.5 (1.95) (Betway)
It seems that, unlike Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games, the odds are ever in our favor this week, as we’ve been able to dig through all the rubble and find three near sure-things among the NCAA’s Saturday football schedule. Expect K-State to upset the Mountaineers (though I’m still unsure how they’re not favored), the Bulldogs to bounce back in a big way, and Oklahoma State to show us the 2020 Longhorns’ true colors.
